text:
Pharmaceutical exec guilty of bribing doctors to prescribe opioid
by Alanna Durkin Richer, Associated Press, Updated: May 2, 2019
FILE - In this Jan. 30, 2019, file photo, Insys Therapeutics founder John Kapoor leaves federal court in Boston. On Thursday, May 2, 2019, Kapoor was found guilty in a scheme to bribe doctors to boost sales of a highly addictive fentanyl spray meant for cancer patients with severe pain. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
Steven Senne / AP
BOSTON (AP) — A pharmaceutical company founder accused of paying doctors millions in bribes to prescribe a highly addictive fentanyl spray was convicted Thursday in a case that exposed such marketing tactics as using a stripper-turned-sales-rep to give a physician a lap dance.
John Kapoor, the 76-year-old former chairman of Insys Therapeutics, was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy after 15 days of jury deliberations. Four ex-employees of the Chandler, Ariz.-based company, including the former exotic dancer, were also convicted.
Some of the most sensational evidence in the months-long federal trial included a video of employees dancing and rapping around an executive dressed as a giant bottle of the powerful spray Subsys, and testimony about how the company made a habit of hiring attractive women as sales representatives.
Federal prosecutors portrayed the case as part of the government's effort to go after those it views as responsible for fueling the nation's deadly opioid crisis.
Opioid overdoses claimed nearly 400,000 lives in the U.S. between 1999 and 2017, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An estimated 2 million people are addicted to the drugs, which include both prescription painkillers such as OxyContin and illegal drugs such as heroin.
Kapoor and the others were accused of bribing doctors across the U.S. to boost sales of Subsys and misleading insurers to get payment approved for the drug, which is meant for cancer patients in severe pain and can cost as much as $19,000 a month, according to prosecutors. The bribes were paid in the form of fees for sham speaking engagements that were billed as educational opportunities for other doctors.
The charges carry up to 20 years in prison.
"We will continue the fight to clear Dr. Kapoor's name," defense attorney Beth Wilkinson said in a statement. She said the long deliberations prove it was "far from an open-and-shut case."
A former sales representative testified that regional sales manager Sunrise Lee once gave a lap dance at a Chicago nightclub to a doctor whom Insys was pushing to write more prescriptions. Lee's lawyer said she will challenge the verdict.
Jurors also watched the rap video, which was shown at a national meeting in 2015 to motivate sales reps to push doctors to prescribe higher doses of the drug. At the end of the video, the person dressed up as the bottle takes off his costume and is revealed to be then-vice president of sales Alec Burlakoff.
Burlakoff pleaded guilty and testified against Kapoor. Burlakoff told the jury that he met Lee at the strip club where she worked and recruited her to join the company despite her lack of pharmaceutical industry experience because he believed he believed she would be willing to help carry out the plan to pay off doctors.
A former CEO of the company, Michael Babich, also pleaded guilty and testified against his colleagues. He said Insys recruited sales reps who were "easy on the eyes" because doctors didn't want an "unattractive person to walk in their door."
Kapoor's attorney sought to shift the blame onto Burlakoff, who she said was cutting side deals with doctors. Wilkinson argued that Burlakoff and Babich were lying about Kapoor in an attempt to save themselves.
Posted: May 2, 2019 - 5:25 PM
Alanna Durkin Richer, Associated Press
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IMCC2018 – The International Marine Conservation Congress is the most important international meetings for marine conservation professionals and students. This blog is for IMCC5, held June 2018 in Kuching, Malaysia.
You are packing your bags ready to travel to the 5th International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC5). Some of you are already in the air. Most of you are flying to Kuching via Singapore, Hong Kong, or Kuala Lumpur. Some of you are flying from other countries in Asia. Others much further. Many of you are flying from the Americas. That is more than a ton of carbon produced from your flight! As far as our oceans our concerned, that's not great. Actually, that's terrible. But conferences matter and stopping attending them may be even worse news for the oceans!
We are more than conscious of the need for low impact conferences at IMCC5 HQ, and that is why we have continued the policy we set out in stone for IMCC4. Rather than asking you to "opt in" to a carbon offset program, we have simply included a compulsory offset fee in your registration costs. For us, there is simply no other choice. Fortunately, we have great delegates, and not one of you complained about this policy at IMCC4. Not surprisingly, many of you totally embraced it and were very positive with your feedback. Thank you dearly for your support!
Our certificate for the carbon credits we purchased for IMCC5!
We're also happy to share some great news. IMCC4 delegates' support of Mikoko Pamoja project is part of the success that has allowed the project organizers to expand their great work. They are currently launching a second site called Vanga, south of Mikoko Pamoja, which is four times the size of the original site. Hopefully some of you will be supporting this new site as part of your IMCC6 registration fee!
Safe travels and see you very very shortly in Kuching!
With such accolades as "one of 10 People to Follow Who are Saving the World" and "Social Media MVP", Danielle Brigida is the perfect addition to OceansOnline. As one of the plenary speakers for the special IMCC 5 add-on day, Danielle's experience with promoting conservation through social media has led her through a decade of successful outreach and communication.
How do you use social media to communicate your research?
Listen. All. The. Time. We often strategize how much to post when we're talking about social media. But the truth is, I think a lot of social media success can come from being a good listener. I have found listening or monitoring keywords, friends, thought leaders and topics to be one of the best ways to understand and engage with the communities I am a part of. I prioritize listening over talking, and follow and engage with conversations of current and desired audiences so that I can better identify ways to engage and help bridge their connection to wildlife.
Be present daily, even if just for a short time. I try to check in daily and find this builds trust but also expectation (so be careful!). I use social media and aim to be a reliable member of the community.
Own what you don't know. I work to show that I'm there to curb misinformation and be a resource. Of course I make tons of mistakes doing this! But the key is to apologize, correct the errors and work to prevent future issues.
Share what you know. I use social media to connect with experts and leaders in different areas, whether business, government, nonprofit, etc. I want to be the first person they think of if they need help around an issue about wildlife so that I can direct them where they need to go.
Tap into creativity and everyday life. There's so much to be in awe of and draw inspiration from—don't limit yourself! Use tasteful humor, art, and others to inspire you and play online. When you're enjoying yourself, that passion translates and makes others enjoy your company.
What advice do you have for someone who is interested in online communication but isn't sure where to start?
Whether you're communicating about your personal research or on behalf of an organization, what has worked for me is remembering to always add value and passionately participate. Follow people you want to learn from, interact with them where you see fit and determine how you'll be a perspective that is meaningfully unique. If you're just getting started, learn the technology and the communities that exist within each platform, but never forget your humanity and to have fun!
Where do you see science communication in 10 years from now?
In seeing how people document wildlife and nature, I'll be interested to see how we continue to blend online and offline experiences. We bring our phones out into nature often now, we watch bald eagle webcams, we are constantly learning and perceiving new information based on technology enhancements that make our research stronger and deeper. I'm definitely interested in how our realities shift to incorporate AI, AR, and VR but also how those can become knowledge sharing platforms for researchers and scientists as well.
There is already a trend toward humans seeing animals as individuals, more than just broad species. I see this playing into research and how we track and follow wildlife in interesting ways. Maybe in how we discuss research or how we connect to the public.
Have you had any run-ins with "trolls"? If so, how did you handle it?
Representing a government agency online, I very much want to encourage peaceful unrest on our channels. We make decisions, and often someone is unhappy or displeased. When we receive negativity around decisions online, I want to give people a place to express themselves, but in a respectful way.
We do receive a lot of negativity and some trolls, but most of the people I interact with are just very passionate. I try not to dismiss anyone, but see most conversations as an opportunity to clear up misinformation. That being said, when someone is just trying to get a rise out of you, keeping your cool, responding with factual information and dropping it is my best advice.
I think a lot of people don't realize that a real person reads their comments, and I hope to convey that when I respond. Their yelling on Twitter or Facebook isn't actually influencing decisions. You can be rude or mean to our social accounts all you want, but the way to enact change is through the more traditional channels still.
Where do you think the largest gaps are in science communication?
I think science communicators are doing a great job connecting with one another and forming a tighter bond online—I see this on Twitter and I'm heartened by it. However, I think there is still opportunity to reach out to people who don't yet know they love science (everyone!). It's a fine balance between fostering a curiosity in people and remaining accurate. Sometimes we forget how far encouragement goes. Often I see scientists pointing out flaws over encouraging people. The more we can jump into conversations by adding value, the better—but just remember that sometimes the message will be better received if done in a gentler way.
I think there is a lot of room to make research and our work relevant, but sometimes that means going outside of our current comfort zone and having the challenging conversations that not only relate to people but that inspire them in hopeful ways.
What role should scientists play in science communication, particularly online?
I think scientists can help shape a lot of the discourse online in a positive way. There's currently a lot of misinformation out there, and by engaging in conversations and helping to provide logic, reason, and the wonder and passion that got you into your field, you can provide a huge value to the online space, and to science in general. Scientists can help represent their field, and remind people that supporting the brightest minds and supporting the scientific method will keep us focused and continuously learning as a society. I want us to continue to be supportive of one another, and I have great reason to hope we will.
What are you hoping delegates take away from your plenary talk at OceansOnline?
I hope they feel inspired to explore and empower people on social media. We need their voice. We need their curiosity. I want them to see that by being human beings online, we have a great potential to make incredibly important relationships and help represent scientists in a very positive way that inspires others to support or join the field.
What are you most excited for during IMCC and/or OceansOnline?
Meeting the attendees and learning from everyone! I love meeting people in this field. From what I know, it's such an incredible group and I think the more we can work together the more successful we will be.
Follow Danielle on Twitter (@starfocus) and tune-in to her blog!
Keni Rienks (@kenirienks) is the Communications Chair for OceansOnline and one of the organizers for the 1st International Marine Kids Congress. She is a high school science teacher in Wilmington, NC, USA, and a graduate student at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment.
A final opportunity to see Borneo's unique wildlife has been added to the official field trips for the 5th International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC5). Bespoke for conference delegates is an opportunity for a TWO DAY visit to Sarawak's most important turtle conservation site.
The field trip will take place on the tiny island of Talang-Talang Besar, 7 kilometers offshore of Borneo's North Coast (Source: Google Maps).
This field trip allows participants an up close and personal experience with marine animals which are on the brink of extinction. Volunteers get the chance to actively participate hands on in turtle conservation work at the uninhabited Talang-Talang Besar Island in the Talang-Satang National Park, Sarawak's first marine protected area. Participants will join a team of dedicated local professionals in their efforts to save the turtles. The conservation program aims to create awareness and to impart knowledge on the importance of sea turtle protection.
The turtle nesting site on Talang-Talang Besar and the ranger station where you will be staying (Source: Sarawak Forestry).
Visitation to the turtle nesting site is highly restricted. Only a set of slots per year are provided by the Sarawak Forestry Corporation during nesting season, running from the months of May to September. This is a very special opportunity. Sign up quick on your IMCC5 registration form* before the field trip becomes fully booked!
(*If you have already registered you can still log back in and add this trip. If you need to cancel a different field trip to attend this one please email us).
The field trip is inclusive of full board meals as indicated in detailed program (below), transfers, Boat Fees, Entrance Fees, Basic accommodation at Ranger Facilities, English Speaking Guide. The sum of RM300 per person included in the package will go directly to the conservation fund. The field trip is also listed on the IMCC website.
Pick up at 8 am from Kuching for a 1.5hrs transfer to the quaint town of Sematan.
Transfer to Kuching to arrive close to midday.
Registration for the IMCC pre-workshop Tales from the Sea: Communicating Science and Conservation through Storytelling, held on 22-23 June 2018, is now open. This workshop is co-organized by scientists and science communication specialists at COMPASS, Oregon State University and Stanford's Center for Ocean Solutions.
Storytelling is a powerful way to transfer information and knowledge, evoke emotion, and build trust with an audience. Join us as we discuss key elements of oral storytelling and help you build the skills you need to craft powerful stories to share your conservation science experience.
This workshop is geared towards scientists who are conducting research and want to share their findings with diverse audiences. IMCC participants with accepted abstracts are invited to apply for this lively, hands-on, 2-day pre-meeting storytelling workshop. As a participant, you will 1) identify and distill your conservation science message, 2) develop an engaging oral narrative for public audiences, and 3) contribute your video-taped story to an archive of marine conservation stories. Workshop participants will also have the opportunity to tell their stories in a special live event during IMCC.. Please note that participants will be contacted in mid-June with a pre-workshop assignment to complete in advance of the workshop.
To register for this workshop, please complete the following online application form here (https://goo.gl/forms/NHPcpso9BGKOlUF03). Space is limited, so please register as soon as possible.
For more information, please contact Heather Mannix (heather.mannix@compassscicomm.org). For more information about the IMCC Workshops (including fees), please see the conference webpage (https://conbio.org/mini-sites/imcc5/program/short-courses/).
Ocean acidification. Coral bleaching. Overfishing. Marine Pollution and debris. Invasive Species. Dead zones. The challenges our oceans face can seem grim on the best of days. But humankind has the ingenuity and optimism to solve them.
When we combine the knowledge of conservationists and biologists with engineers, programmers, makers, and designers, we can improve the efficacy, speed, cost, scale and sustainability of conservation efforts through novel technologies and approaches. A diverse range of skills and professions must be brought to the table to collaboratively address these challenges. This is the idea behind Make for the Planet.
Join Make for the Planet Borneo! Make for the Planet is an exciting, fast-paced, collaborative, and hands-on invention competition for multidisciplinary teams to build software and/or hardware solutions in response to specific marine conservation challenges.
Conservation X Labs will host up to 15 teams (60 people maximum) from around the world to compete in Make for the Planet Borneo. This event will take place on June 24-29 at the 5th International Marine Conservation Congress in the Waterfront Hotel in Kuching, Malaysia.
Make for the Planet Borneo will engage students and practitioners from multiple fields – engineering, design, do-it-yourself making, computer programming, science and technology, etc. – to create solutions for five specific marine conservation challenges to be presented at IMCC5. Teams will have access to a pop-up makerspace with prototyping equipment, including 3D printers and electronics stations, and access to the IMCC5 presentations. Mentors from the IMCC5 delegation and local organizations will be on-hand to help guide the multidisciplinary teams.
Lodging (June 24-29) and IMCC5 registration is covered for the participating teams.
At least two teams will win cash prizes, with a prize purse of up to $10,000 USD.
All participating teams will receive at least one consulting session from Shenzhen Open Innovation Lab (SZOIL) to continue to refine their prototypes and solutions after Make for the Planet.
One team will receive a 6-month hot bench membership to Maker Bay in Hong Kong.
Deadline for submissions is May 13th, the same day as early-bird registration closes!
Conservation X Labs is recruiting teams, mentors, and supporters to participate in Make for the Planet Borneo and chart the future of marine conservation. We encourage anyone interested to get involved, especially IMCC5 delegates, and participate in this exciting and promising competition.
We are looking for diverse teams of up to 4 people each to participate in designing, developing and prototyping solutions to marine-related conservation challenges. Teams can be composed of students or non-students and can have a wide variety of backgrounds and areas of expertise. We will accept up to 15 teams of 4. As a participant on a team, you get to have fun and build an early-stage model of a real-world solution while interacting with your potential customers who are on-site as reviewers, mentors, and conference-goers.
The participant application is open until we reach capacity – visit the website HERE. Attending IMCC5 and want to participate on a team, or still looking for team mates? You can apply! Read more about the event including logistical information and a previous Make for the Planet in 2017.
We are looking for individuals with subject matter expertise in marine related areas, as well as those who have experience in engineering, data science, open innovation and large scale problem solving. As a Mentor or Reviewer, you can apply your expertise to inspire, guide, and incentivize the innovative teams creating real-world solutions. The teams might just create the thing that you need to help solve your conservation problem! We welcome an unlimited number of Mentors, so please sign-up HERE if you are interested. Conservation X labs will recruit about 7 Reviewers who will hear the pitches from all participating teams and identify finalists.
IMCC5 delegates are invited to mentor teams at Make for the Planet Borneo – sign up HERE.


text:
A Collection for the Whole Earth
By: Amanda Keener
Review of: Taylor Brorby and Stefanie Brook Trout, eds. Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking America (North Liberty, IA: Ice Cube Press, 2016).
Before reading the large, diverse collection of essays, poems, and stories in Fracture, like many, I was concerned about fracking's violation of the land and communities, but I did not fully grasp the wrong that it does. Fracture makes the reasons why fracking, or frac-sands mining, is wrong crystal clear, but it also gives voice to the complicated perspectives and socioeconomic factors that have helped to continue the practice.
This anthology hosts the writings of nearly fifty accomplished authors, exploring the complexities of fracking through first-hand experiences, investigative journalism, storytelling, and verse. Each of the collected works has an extremely personal tone to it; this, paired with the talent of the writers, creates a treasury of outlooks that are more accessible and easier to relate to than purely scientific writing and articles. As a reader who had little experience with the complexity of the issues surrounding fracking, Fracture offered a selection of very engaging works that are accessible to a wider audience, including my novice self. Thanks to this collection, I have now become well versed in the beliefs of both camps on the issue, and in the socioeconomics that complicate the matter further.
There are repeated metaphors—and realities—throughout Fracture, driving home the importance of these factors and issues within the fracking industry. One of the persistent comparisons is the expression of fracking as a form of violation, and violence, against the Earth, and tying this to violence against womanhood and the female body. This begins in the Foreword, by Barbara Hud, titled "Fracking: A Fable": "the shale shattered, the black rock spider-webbed with skinny fissures as the above world inserted its tendrils, and into those tiny rifts we rammed more sand to keep them wedged open wider" (iii). It continues in Amy Weldon's essay, "A Miniature Handbook for New Women Activists":"over and over, a woman who's done nothing wrong suffers anyway. Her body is the holding pool for the runoff of centuries' worth of neuroses, rages, and toxins, figurative and literal" (43).
Fracture alternates between these deeply personal essays and poems and works that consist primarily of science or investigative journalism. This juxtaposition jolted me emotionally. Supporting personal, traumatic accounts with scientific facts and with powerful firsthand stories allows the different types of writing to work in partnership with one another, and this enhanced the writing's staying power in my mind. There are shocking details about the industry that some may not even consider, such as the Halliburton loopholes, the nasty substance referred to as "brine," and other aspects of the complicated nature of the fracking industry on all levels. The use of storytelling throughout the anthology, whether in non-fiction, fiction, or poetry, has been executed in such a way that the writing can convey complicated or dense scientific and economic issues in an engaging and even riveting manner.
The issue of fracking is one with many sides, and this collection doesn't make easy assumptions; it does not oversimplify or assert only one point of view. Frequently authors manage to take the middle ground or to offer insight into the complicated fracking industry and how people and the Earth have become entangled within it. In this way, the success of the anthology doesn't just come across in the clear talent of its authors, but also in the wide range of frames of reference and issues that they offer; in the different ways in which similar issues are discussed; and in the difficulty that is realized when an issue is so complicated. Take, for example, the realization that Maryann Lesert has in her essay, "The Ultimate Out of Balance":"As he and I stood and talked, the feeling that good people with good intentions were blasting the earth below us with horrible chemicals and sand mined at great cost brought on that awful sense that there was no stopping the process" (358).
Although Fracture frequently offers a level-headed interpretation, it also tackles the heartbreaking extent at which fracking ruins and extinguishes the life it surrounds, such as in Antonia Felix's piece, "The Extravagance of Vice," in which the livelihood of a family, their history on the land, and the promise and hope that can be found in the future is stolen.
Some of the essays resemble those of other great environmental authors, such as Stephanie Mills essay, "Last Call: Frack Wells, Wood Frogs, and Leopold's Ethic." Mills description of the changing land around her Michigan home is reminiscent of Joy Williams essay, "One Acre,"in her book, Ill Nature.
In Fracture there are also some frequently recurring images used consistently throughout the collection—for instance, white trucks, light pollution, and sexism. The last is discussed by Beth Loffreda in her essay, "Towards": "How often, when energy money turns up, do women re-learn in a variety of drably quotidian ways, their worth?" (179). The most prevalent issue is the destruction of natural beauty, the livelihoods of communities, and our shared histories. Andrea Peacock writes of world heritage sites being obscured by gas pads in "Three Rivers Quartet," raising the question: What will we exchange for economic stability? And how much have we already given away? This question is addressed, and sometimes answered, throughout the book.
In some cases, Fracture offers space for reflection on what has already been done and cannot be reversed, such as in Richard Manning's, "Now We're Talking Price," in which he explores the ways that nature—specifically the badlands—can soothe grief and help it to subside, and the resulting deep wound that the destruction of these places causes.
The collection closes with a poem by Alison Hawthorne Denning, "Homeland Security." It offers a refreshing point of view, the slice of lemon on the rim of a clean glass of water—a glass this book has made clear is a great treasure that we should not take for granted, and that we should protect: "What is earth to an astronaut? / It is the exception to emptiness" (441). Denning thus offers that we quite literally need to see the bigger picture in a wholesome and concise way.
Overall this is a wonderful, eye-opening, and heartbreaking book that must be read, for the sake of our future and our present world. Although its size could be intimidating, it is an engaging and entertaining read about a subject that is usually daunting. And there is some joy to be found between its covers—joy in the beauty of the Earth that we share, and in the understanding we find in one another.
Fracking is an issue so all-encompassing that it has brought together voices from nearly all genres of writing, just as it has brought together communities and countries. I can think of no better way to describe the foundation of this unity than in the words of Louise A. Blum in her essay in this anthology, "Faith on the Front Lines":
What sustained me here on this blockade is not religion but collective action—a faith not in the idea of heaven but in the immediacy of earth in the connection between land and water, in the knowledge that we live in a closed system and that what we have is all we'll ever get and that what we lose is lost forever. (102)
Amanda Keener
Graduate Student, Oregon State University
Amanda Keener is a current graduate student in the Environmental Arts and Humanities program at Oregon State University with a focus in environmental writing. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Portland State University, where she wrote feature articles for the Vanguard newspaper, and participated in wildlife conservation grant writing.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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https://www.manchesterhive.com/search?q=%22Research%22
You are looking at 1 - 10 of 13,309 items for :
"Research" x
Sara Callahan
Art and research. These two terms have become ever more entangled since the late 1990s: artists and curators now routinely describe their work as research or research-based. The resulting objects, whether material or immaterial, are examinations, case studies, explorations, surveys, investigations, enquiries or interrogations into particular phenomena or sets of questions – preferably with 'critical' added as a prefix. Aesthetic references to research are also common. Artworks and exhibitions often include objects that look like research
in Art + Archive
Healthcare research
Margaret Brazier
Emma Cave
. The shocking incident at Northwick Park continued a trend of diminishing confidence in the regulation of research. In 2000, inquiries were held into allegations that research was carried out on newborn babies without parental consent in a hospital in North Staffordshire. 6 Scandals surrounding retention of body parts originated in Bristol and Liverpool with evidence of children's body parts being retained for research without their parents' consent or knowledge. 7 And in 2010 Andrew Wakefield was struck off the medical register for serious professional misconduct
in Medicine, patients and the law (sixth edition)
Researching migration
A Qualitative Panel Study and workplace studies
Torben Krings
Elaine Moriarty
James Wickham
Alicja Bobek
Justyna Salamońska
2 Researching migration: a Qualitative Panel Study and workplace studies In this chapter, we outline the research methodology of our study. The core of the research was a Qualitative Panel Study (QPS) with a group of twenty-two Polish migrants in Ireland. We first discuss the rationale for choosing a QPS to study Polish migrants in the Irish labour market. We argue that such a study represents an innovative methodological tool to examine the worklife pathways of migrants in a dynamic manner and to illuminate the new mobility patterns of East–West migration. We
in New mobilities in Europe
Creative research communication
Clare Wilkinson
Emma Weitkamp
Considering how to communicate your research or engage others with the latest science, social science or humanities research? This book explores new and emerging approaches to engaging people with research, placing these in the wider context of research communication. Split into three sections, Creative Research Communication explores the historical routes and current drivers for public engagement, before moving on to explore practical approaches and finally discussing ethical issues and the ways in which research communication can contribute to research impact.
Starting from the premise that researchers can and ought to participate in the public sphere, this book provides practical guidance and advice on contributing to political discourse and policymaking, as well as engaging the public where they are (whether that is at the theatre, at a music festival or on social media). By considering the plurality of publics and their diverse needs and interests, it is quite possible to find a communications niche that neither offers up bite-sized chunks of research, nor conceptualises the public as lacking the capacity to consider the myriad of issues raised by research, but explains and considers thoughtfully the value of research endeavours and their potential benefits to society.
It's time for researchers to move away from one-size fits all, and embrace opportunities for creative approaches to research communication. This book argues for a move away from metrics and tick box approaches and towards approaches that work for you, as an individual researcher, in the context of your own discipline and interests.
Methods and Guides
Researching Sex and the Cinema in the #MeToo Age
Sara Janssen
This introduction to the Film Studies special issue on Sex and the Cinema considers the special place of sex as an object of inquiry in film studies. Providing an overview of three major topic approaches and methodologies – (1) representation, spectatorship and identity politics; (2) the increasing scrutiny of pornography; and (3) new cinema history/media industries studies – this piece argues that the parameters of and changes to the research of sex, broadly defined, in film studies reflect the development of the field and discipline since the 1970s, including the increased focus on putatively 'low' cultural forms, on areas of film culture beyond representation and on methods beyond textual/formal analysis.
Film, Media and Music
A research handbook for patient and public involvement researchers
Penny Bee
Patrick Callaghan
Karina Lovell
This handbook is written for patients and members of the public who want to understand more about the approaches, methods and language used by health-services researchers. Patient and public involvement (PPI) in research is now a requirement of most major health-research programmes, and this book is designed to equip these individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary for meaningful participation. Edited by award-winning mental-health researchers, the book has been produced in partnership with mental-health-service users and carers with experience of research involvement. It includes personal reflections from these individuals alongside detailed information on quantitative, qualitative and health-economics research methods, and comprehensively covers all the basics needed for large-scale health research projects: systematic reviews; research design and analysis using both qualitative and quantitative approaches; health economics; research ethics; impact and dissemination. This book was developed during a five-year research programme funded by the UK's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) called Enhancing the Quality of User Involved Care Planning in Mental Health Services (EQUIP). The handbook clearly outlines research practices, and gives an insight into how public and patient representatives can be involved in them and shape decisions. Each chapter ends with a reflective exercise, and there are also some suggested sources of additional reading. People who get involved in health research as experts from experience now have a textbook to support their research involvement journey.
Living Research Two
Emotions and research
Hannah Jones
Yasmin Gunaratnam
Gargi Bhattacharyya
Sukhwant Dhaliwal
Emma Jackson
Roiyah Saltus
Living Research Two: Emotions and research Operation Vaken's posters, newspaper adverts, immigration surgeries and mobile billboards were a dramatic display, designed to reassure some citizens that the government was 'getting tough' on irregular immigration. However, the campaign also increased worries and anxiety. The survey carried out for us by Ipsos MORI of a nationally representative sample of 2,424 people (for
in Go home?
Research dissemination and impact
Research dissemination and impact Helen Brooks and Penny Bee Chapter overview Research activity does not finish when data analysis is complete. Once research findings are available, researchers still have obligations to fulfil. These obligations include sharing the findings with different audiences and ensuring maximum impact from the study. A Research Handbook for Patient and Public Involvement Researchers Chapter 10: The process of sharing research learning with others can be an enjoyable but challenging one. Often it is referred to as dissemination, but
in A research handbook for patient and public involvement researchers
Penny Bee, Helen Brooks, Patrick Callaghan, and Karina Lovell
Living Research Four
Ethics in uncomfortable research situations
Living Research Four: Ethics in uncomfortable research situations The ethical bottom line for sociologists is, 'first, do no harm'. This can mean taking care that how we present our research does not add to raced, classed and gendered oppressions, and equally, avoiding a well-meaning shrug and a response of 'It's complicated'. At its best, sociology takes seriously the personal, everyday struggles and inconsistencies of
Mentoring arts-based research
A tale of two professors
Randee Lipson Lawrence
Patricia Cranton
6 Mentoring arts-based research: a tale of two professors Randee Lipson Lawrence and Patricia Cranton A rts-based research has tremendous potential to foster human creativity and bring about cultural and social change. Unfortunately, in our experience, graduate programmes in mainstream academic cultures may not always seek to foster creativity. Bringing the arts into graduate adult education research has the potential to breathe new life into what has become a fixed and often rather dull process. This chapter discusses this practice as it critiques and
in Lifelong learning, the arts and community cultural engagement in the contemporary university
Darlene E. Clover and Kathy Sanford


As one of the most distinctive architectural feature of any home windows can have a major influence on the overall exterior and interior design. So, how you dress them is an important consideration from both a practical and aesthetic point of view. The right window treatment can give the interiors a more cohesive look and make them look and feel more homey and inviting. You would want something that looks elegant and stylish, complements your interior design and allows you to easily control elements such as light, heat and privacy.
For such areas as the living room and dining room natural light is a priority. Having in mind that these are usually the main gathering areas in the house they should be airy, bright so the windows here would need coverings that let in lots of sunshine during the day. For the bedroom, on the other hand, the window treatments should block out light as much as possible and provide privacy at the same time. When dressing bathroom windows, the key is to get as much light as possible without compromising on privacy. As for the kitchen here you would need blinds that are easy to clean, open and close in a snap and of course let in as much natural light as possible.
In addition to the required level of privacy and light control the style of the blinds would very much depend on the design effect you want to achieve with them. Do you want them to match the fabrics and colours in the room, or maybe you like them to stand out and provide a nice contrast of shapes and textures. There are many different styles of window treatments each designed to have a different effect on the overall look of your interiors.
With their simple and sophisticated design roller blinds can complement both traditional and modern interiors and provide optimum light control and privacy. They are available in a range of fabrics such as blackout (ideal for the bedroom), light filtering (letting in lots of natural light, while giving you the desired privacy) and sheer (work best when combined with curtains). The roller blind installation is very simple and you can easily do it yourself with a drill and a couple of screws. Depending on the shape and size of your windows you can either mount the blind above the window or within the window frame for a perfect fit.
Consisting of two layers of blinds the double roller blinds can be either blackout or light filtering and offer a lot of flexibility in terms of light control and privacy. They would serve as an elegant addition to any room and are very easy to clean. The double roller blind installation doesn't require any additional tools and just like for mounting standard blinds you would need a drill and screws to adjust them either to the inside or the outside of your window recess.
Coming in an array of materials Venetian blinds can suit many different design schemes. Models made from timber would match perfectly a home with a fun tropical interior design, while aluminium and Visionwood Venetians could instantly enhance the elegance of urban modern interiors. Venetian blinds are very easy to install, but one downside is that tend to accumulate a lot of dust and require regular dusting.
A combination of a curtain and a blind, roman blinds are made up of individual panels of fabric that are attached to slats or a rod. Due to their minimal design these would best suit ultra-modern interiors that are all about clean lines, simple shapes and neutral colours. Roman blinds require a little more maintenance than other types of blinds and to keep them clean you would need to dust and vacuum at least one a week.


Separate from the DCEU, this standalone film will explore the origins of this iteration of the Joker as well as the depths of his inevitable madness. ... See More Madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push. We discuss the trailer, Joker, and the Batman mythos as a whole.


When you choose a colorful blouse or skirt but later decide it doesn't really work you return it for another. That doesn't work as easily when you're choosing your carpet color to go into the living areas of your home.
Carpet helps to create a home's atmosphere. It can unite your decorative elements and can make a room look spacious. If you want it to match the furniture, draperies or painted walls, choose a carpet with a similar hue. Environmental colors like stony neutrals, deep greens, rosy quartz and blues are popular.
Darker colors in a room provide coziness while lighter colors make a room seem larger. Cool greens and blues have a soothing effect and warm colors can have a warming effect in a room that lacks light.
Practical considerations like new stain and soil-resistant yarns make today's lighter colors easier to clean. The darker colors and textures are good at hiding dirt in highly trafficked areas.
Finally, know that the color you choose will change under different lighting conditions. So, you may consider a carpet sample that you can view in your home by daylight and at night by artificial light.
Thanks for the tips for choosing carpet colors. My wife and I are planning on putting new carpet in, and we have not been able to decide what color we want. Thanks for mentioning that darker colors create a cozy feeling. You should also take into account the level of traffic your carpet will have. We have a lot of kids going through our house all the time, so we should choose a darker color because it shows less dirt.


Came on for consideration the report of the United States Magistrate Judge in this action, this matter having been heretofore referred to the Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636. On March 9, 2017, the report of the Magistrate Judge (the "Report") (Dkt. #278) was entered containing proposed findings of fact and recommendations that Plaintiff Nicholas D. Mosser's ("Plaintiff") Motion to Strike Aetna Life Insurance Company's Affirmative Defenses (the "Motion to Strike") (Dkt. #193) be denied.
Plaintiff filed objections to the report (the "Objections") (Dkt. #280). The Court has made a de novo review of the objections raised by Plaintiff and is of the opinion that the findings and conclusions of the Magistrate Judge are correct and the objections are without merit as to the ultimate findings of the Magistrate Judge. The Court hereby adopts the findings and conclusions of the Magistrate Judge as the findings and conclusions of the Court.
Plaintiff seeks to strike the following affirmative defenses (the "Affirmative Defenses") asserted by Aetna: (1) First and Nineteenth Affirmative Defenses (failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted); (2) Third Affirmative Defense (good faith and lawful business reasons); (3) Eighth Affirmative Defense (standing); (4) Fifteenth Affirmative Defense (agency); (5) Seventeenth Affirmative Defense (actual knowledge and/or negligence); and (6) Twenty-first Affirmative Defense (reservation of rights). See Dkt. 193.
Plaintiff's first point of error is that the Magistrate Judge incorrectly applied federal law, rather than state law, in her analysis of the sufficiency of Aetna's First and Nineteenth Affirmative Defenses, failure to state a claim. Plaintiff appears to create a dispute where none exists. To the extent that Plaintiff suggests the Magistrate Judge failed to apply the proper pleading standards in her analysis, Plaintiff is wrong.
[A] party may move to dismiss a cause of action on the grounds that it has no basis in law or fact. A cause of action has no basis in the law if the allegations, taken as true, together with inferences reasonably drawn from them, do not entitle the claimant to the relief sought. A cause of action has no basis in fact if no reasonable person could believe the facts pleaded.
Tex. R. Civ. P. 91a.1 While not identical to the Rule 12(b)(6) standard, the Texas Courts of Appeals have interpreted Rule 91a as essentially calling for a Rule 12(b)(6)-type analysis, and have relied on the 12(b)(6) case law in applying Rule 91a. See Linron Properties, Ltd. v. Wausau Underwriters Ins. Co., 2015 WL 3755071, at *2-3 (N.D. Tex. 2015) (citing Wooley v. Schaffer, 447 S.W.3d 71, 76 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2014), reh'g overruled (Oct. 9, 2014); GoDaddy.com, LLC v. Toups, 429 S.W.3d 752, 754 (Tex. App.-Beaumont 2014), review denied (Nov. 21, 2014)).
Based on the foregoing, there is no credible argument that the Magistrate Judge applied the incorrect standard. Furthermore, the Magistrate Judge agreed with Plaintiff that failure to state a claim is not an affirmative defense, but declined to strike those defenses. See Dkt. #278 at 5. Thus, it appears that Plaintiff disagrees not with the analysis, but rather with the Magistrate Judge's conclusion. This does not constitute a basis for error. The Magistrate Judge properly declined to strike Aetna's First Affirmative Defense. The Magistrate Judge noted that a failure to state a claim defense, although commonly pleaded in an answer because Federal Rule 12(h)(2) allows it, is not an affirmative defense. Dkt. #278 at 5 (citing Kleppinger v. Tex. Dep't of Transp., 2012 WL 12893653, at *9 (S.D. Tex. 2012) (collecting cases)). Although not technically an affirmative defense, the failure to state a claim defense may be treated as such. See Lebouef v. Island Operating Co., Inc., 342 Fed.App'x. 983, 984- 85 (5th Cir. 2009).
Additionally, the defense raises no risk of unfair surprise because Plaintiff has sufficient notice of what Aetna's assertion of failure to state a claim requires of him-"that the 'plain statement' possess[es] enough heft to 'sho[w] that the pleader is entitled to relief.'" Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (2007) (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2)); see also Rogers v. McDorman, 521 F.3d 381, 385 (5th Cir. 2008). Furthermore, striking the defense from Aetna's answer would be pointless because Plaintiff is not at risk of prejudicial harm. See Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. v. Izalco, Inc., 2017 WL 3130581, at *1 (S.D. Tex. 2017) (citing Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. v. United States, 201 F.2d 819, 822 (6th Cir. 1953)).
Accordingly, the Court finds no error in the Magistrate Judge's conclusion that the motion to strike Aetna's failure to state a claim defense should be denied, and Plaintiff's Objection is OVERRULED.
The Magistrate Judge also properly denied Aetna's Third Affirmative Defense explaining that "while mislabeled, [it] informed both Plaintiff and the Court of facts Aetna intends to offer in response to the elements of Plaintiff's case, " and therefore, should not be stricken. Dkt. #278 at 6. As the Magistrate Judge noted, Plaintiff has been given fair notice here of the defense being advanced by Aetna. Id. (citing LSREF2 Baron, L.L.C. v. Tauch, 751 F.3d 394, 398 (5th Cir. 2014) (internal citation omitted) ("A district court has discretion to determine whether the party against whom the defense was raised suffered prejudice or unfair surprise as a result of the delay.")). The Court, therefore, finds no error, and this Objection is likewise OVERRULED.


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167 funky drum one shots that are borderline Ghetto.


While the classical economists considered tax as a source of revenue only, modern economists regarded it as an important tool for achieving socio-economic objectives.
The main objectives of a taxation system is to regulate the economy. This is achieved by maintaining stability in the economy through proper control over production, distribution, consumption and employment in an economy.
The purchasing power of people reduces when they pay tax and hence it also reduces their consumption. This reduces their overall efficiency to work.
Thus, taxes must aim to increase a person's ability to work and save, therefore, certain taxes such as taxes on liquor and tobacco are necessary, as they improve a person's health but taxes on necessities are undesirable as necessities are essential for survival. This also suggests that people with low income must not be subjected to tax as it will have a negative effect on their ability to work and save.
A person's capacity to invest depends upon the resources available with him i.e. savings. Since tax reduces the income of a person, he will be able to save less and hence his capacity to invest also decreases.
As taxes effect the capacity of person to work, save and invest, a person may be motivated to work more or demotivated to work less on the basis of nature of tax imposed on him.
(a) Psychological reactions of tax payer due to income elasticity of demand.
If income elasticity of demand is inelastic – A person will work more and earn more to meet his requirements.
If it is elastic – A person may not work hard to increase his income.
While a progressive tax on income may result is negative effect on the will of a person to work, save & invest, taxes on casual income of a person, inherited property or additional taxes during war do not effect a person's will to work.
Production of a country is directly dependent on the amount of resources allocated to different sectors, industries, regions etc. of an economy.
Taxes on intoxicants will discourage its production and consumption. These resources may be diverted for production of essential commodities. Hence, such a tax is desirable.
Taxes on necessities will discourage a person as it will increase the cost of living. Such tax may divert resources towards production of useless products. Hence, it is undesirable.
If taxes encourage savings and discourages consumption it diverts resources from present to future. If taxes discourage savings and encourage consumption, it results in diversion of resources from future to present.
Resources are also diverted from the state where tax burden is heavy to a state where tax burden is light.
Under progressive taxation – The rich bear more burden of taxation than lower income people. Thus inequalities in distribution of income and wealth is less or reduces with time.
Under proportional tax – Inequalities increase with un-proportional increase in income of individuals and remains the same if income of individuals remain the same.
Under regressive taxation – Inequalities increase as more tax burden is borne by the poor and less by the rich.
Direct taxes such as income tax are progressive in nature, therefore, the burden of tax lies more on the rich and less on the poor.
Indirect taxes are regressive in nature, therefore, the burden of tax lies more on the poor and less on the rich.
Taxes help in reducing the demand for goods and services by restricting the purchasing power of the public thereby keeps a check on inflation. It helps to fill the gap between demand & supply as subsidies provided by government in form of tax benefits will help producers to produce more and taxes charged by public will reduce their demand.
By adjusting taxes both marginal propensity to consume and amount of investment can be increased (by discouraging savings) which helps in curbing depression.
While taxes on intoxicants is desirable, taxes on necessities are undesirable. Thus high taxes can be imposed on unproductive activities & commodities to discourage its consumption and tax relief on necessities can be provided to increase its consumption.
When more revenue is collected by the Government by way of taxes, it can be spent on social and welfare activities and hence increase production and employment.


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Beautifully presented. Receiver was nicely surprised and said it tasted great!
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text:
Frederic Guarino
The 22nd century will be what we make it
Are we wasting the Covid crisis and avoiding the Great Reset ?
NB: this is a cross post from my Substack newsletter, published in Oct
Born during the baby crash years of the 1970s and coming of age in 1980s America images of the future beckoned and excited the imagination. Notwithstanding the "Day After" nuclear Armageddon fears, our childhood was bookended by the 2001 Space Odyssey-style visions of the future and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Futurists like Alvin Toffler graced magazine covers and the "year 2000" was a calling card for progress. The first 2 decades of the 21st century, rocked by terrorism, wars and climate catastrophes, and too often we seem to have forgotten that the future is what we make it. Who speaks of preparing the future and establishing strong foundations for the 22nd century ? …
Published in Connecting dots
Christmas eve thread on the roots of 2016
Read more in Connecting dots · 1 min read
The disUnited States and its Refederated future
America needs to update its federation to prevent a deeper unraveling
NB: originally published on Oct 17, this is a cross post from my Substack newsletter
The AP released a disheartening poll yesterday on the state of US democracy:
Add to it that US media thinks little of the fact there was no debate between the candidates for President this week says a lot about the state of America. In 2004 at the DNC Barack Obama appealed to the better selves of America and asked for a leap of faith to transcend the red/blue divide. His call to action mostly failed, due to entrenched interests and more.
Jack Ma is Xi's Khodorskovsky and he will be made an example of
He should leave China now or risk his fortune and more
UPDATE from Nov 13 Substack post
Jack Ma made a controversial speech on Oct 24
NB: this post was originally posted on Nov 13 on my Substack
UPDATE: as expected and forewarned, Xi Jinping is going to make an example out of Ma, who should really think about leaving China, now.
Bloomberg this Dec 24:
The probe announced Thursday marks the formal start of the Communist Party's crackdown on the crown jewel of Ma's sprawling dominion, spanning everything from e-commerce to logistics and social media. [..]
Once hailed as drivers of economic prosperity and symbols of the country's technological prowess, Alibaba and rivals like Tencent Holdings Ltd. face increasing pressure from regulators after amassing hundreds of millions of users and gaining influence over almost every aspect of daily life in China. …
Published in The Domino
The Trumpified GOP wasn't born in a vacuum
It's the sum of collective greed and evil
American media, particularly its DC/NY political media, has many virtues: doggedness like David Fahrentold who uncovered Trump's grifting, righteousness like Eugene Robinson and Mike Barnicle whose opeds are useful chronicles of our "interesting times". What it fundamentally lacks is the ability to think outside itself and to call out, forcefully, how we got here, with a Trumpified GOP and Roger Stone calling for Trump to imprison the Clintons, Mark Zuckerberg and even Gen. Mattis.
Rupert Murdoch looks at one of the first copies of the new Sun newspaper, November 1969. Photograph: Pa/PA Archive/Press Association Images via The Guardian
Murdoch destabilized democracy on 3 continents
Rupert Murdoch will be remembered as the man whose greed and cunning destabilized and upended democracy in the English language world, save for Canada. His vulgar tabloidization of the news in the UK, Australia and the US over 6 decades has contributed to sapping the public good that was the news in the post WWII era. Murdoch's wily manipulation of naive politicians on 3 continents remains a case study in how a captain of industry can become more powerful than titular heads of government. Since 2017 the leaks of his post-Trump phone calls says everything one needs to know: as recorded by Michael Wolff "I can't get the asshole off the phone" or "What a fucking idiot". No President of the United States before Trump has been similarly insulted by the great puppetmaster of right wing media. In the UK Tony Blair's infamous suckup to Murdoch in 1997 all but guaranteed the Sun newspaper's endorsement and therefore the keys to Downing Street. The systematic right wing deconstruction, Jacques Derrida-style, of the American center right will also remain a case study in an Oz-like behind the scenes orchestration. This writer has already detailed how Murdoch's puppetmaster ways have neutered debate on the right, where Congresspeople audition in the US Capitol for a few years before their real "job": paid commentator on Fox News. …
Read more in The Domino · 4 min read
Xi and Trump are symptoms of sickened societies
The rise of the true multipolar world
Future analysts of the first two decades of the 21st century might wonder how 2 of the most powerful countries in the world, China and the US, managed to elevate to the highest office bombastic and flawed sons of privilege, seemingly determined in running their societies into the ground.
Current analysts also wonder how China's supposed 5,000 year old civilization, having adhered up to now to Deng Xiaoping's genius political system, is letting a mini Mao concentrate all power in his hands. The last time China lived under a single man dictatorship it cost millions of lives and maintained it as a backwards country. …
Published in The Mediaquake
Social media is not social anymore and certainly not media
A manifesto for curators, mediators and moderators
It's historical fact that starting in the 15th century Gutenberg's press liberated the propagation of ideas vs monk-copied enluminures and directly affected societies' very structures. The cumulative effects of mass access to broadband, mobile access to the internet and participation in social media such as blogging and tweeting are not yet fully analyzed but the past 5 years are a good indicator.
"Social" media is an oxymoron
So-called social media is an oxymoron: social implies a modicum of interaction rules, sorely lacking on Facebook and Twitter, and media implies a mediation performed by newspapers, radio and broadcast and cable tv networks, which Big Tech has mostly refused to take on. In a recent conversation a good friend of mine reflected on the perils of leaving social media networks to pugilistic extremists from both sides. …
Read more in The Mediaquake · 5 min read
Will America choose light over darkness ?
Yes, as it always does
Sunrise neer Deerfield, Kansas, November 2018
VP Biden's stirring rhetoric last night put it simply: light and darkness are pitted against each other in November. This choice has been put before America before, and in most instances, its people chose light.
What's the source of my realistic optimism ? It's part personal experience, part History. In previous articles I wrote about my American upbringing amid the Reagan revolution where the Great Communicator channeled "the shining city on the hill" and "morning in America". In the weeks before the 2018 midterms I wrote about the forces that are fundamentally reshaping America and its role in the world.
The dark side has chosen a full-on negative stance and spends its time whining and victimizing itself. …
Putin the asymmetric terrorist
2020 looking like an echo of 2016
A young Joseph Stalin, circa 1902, when he was detained as a terrorist by the Tsarist police
The US Senate finally published its report on how the 2016 election was in effect polluted and worse by Russian interests, in cahoots with the Trump campaign. Putin will have been revealed as the ultimate asymmetric terrorist, and he's at it again in 2020.
Webster's defines terrorism as " the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion". Vladimir Putin acceded to the top of Russia's power structure through outright terrorism in 1999 — the FSB-sponsored attacks on Moscow area residential buildings later blamed on Chechen rebels — and he has kept his power through coercion and corruption.
His 2005 speech is too often dismissed or misread, yet it contains all you need to know about Putin's…
Pax Americana is dead, long live Pax Americana
Bob Lefsetz is worth quoting, again, as he echoes Umair Haque's daily warnings to Americans who've lived too long removed from History. Democrats are not, yet, rising to the moment posed by Trump's constant knifing of the US Constitution and as ably noted by Lefsetz, their threat of hearings is ridiculous bordering on dangerous. What Americans are too slow to realize is that Pax Americana in its 1945 format is dead and will not be resurrected as it was.
Pax Americana and the 1945 world order (NATO, Bretton Woods et al) had its heart attack in 1968 in Vietnam, its second in 1989 and is clinically dead as of January 2017 and the ascent of Trump-the-isolationist. He has proceeded to methodically kill off all meaningful transatlantic and transpacific alliances that so benefited America for decades. He managed to turn American soft power into global mistrust and actual hatred in pockets of the world. US passports are now basically worthless and Americans are just starting to realize that their way of life is at best disdained, at worst detested. …
Paris,NYC&Tokyo-bred. http://mediaquake.co http://techlash.news


"The program has several levels which will allow participants to work up the scale so they can be recognized for their emission reduction and offset achievements."
Participation is very practical. It is easy to get started and make a difference.
The graduated levels of participation make this program very practical to get involved in the Cleaning Industry Climate Initiative and to make a difference as an environmental leader in the cleaning industry.
Click here to download the registration form (Word or PDF).
Click here to download a description of steps to certification (PDF).
The Green Cleaning Network is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to sharing information and promoting Green Cleaning. Its founding members include the likes of the U.S. Green Building Council, Hospitals for a Healthy Environment, Healthy Schools Campaign, Responsible Purchasing Network, International Executive Housekeepers Association, and BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association). The Network hosts a series of "discussion forums" which provide information on Green Cleaning to make it easier for the marketplace to adopt greener practices. Visit www.GreenCleaningNetwork.org to learn more.


text:
Q: java.lang.NullPointerException: Attempt to invoke virtual method 'android.view.View android.widget.TableRow.getChildAt(int) Hello and sorry for my english skills =)
I'm coding a little calculation programm in Android Studio and have a problem.
I've made dynamically creating TableRow's in TableLayout like this:
    TableLayout table2 = (TableLayout) findViewById(R.id.table2);
    TableRow.LayoutParams rowParams = new TableRow.LayoutParams(ViewGroup.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT, ActionBar.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT, Gravity.CENTER_HORIZONTAL);

    TableRow row = new TableRow(this);
    row.setLayoutParams(rowParams);

    row.addView(floor2);
    row.addView(ps2table);
    row.addView(gsatable);
    row.addView(vitable);
    table2.addView(row);

Where floor2, ps2table, gsatable and vitable - are TextView's which calculating after a button is pressed.
After the Table has created i try to use one of the numbers (the last row of the TableLayout and the child at 2 position):
    int gsn_count = table2.getChildCount();
    TableRow gsnRow = (TableRow) table2.getChildAt(gsn_count);
    TextView tGsn = (TextView) gsnRow.getChildAt(2);

My problem is, when i try to take a value of one or another number (double) from any TableRow from this TableLayout, i got this error:
java.lang.NullPointerException: Attempt to invoke virtual method 'android.view.View android.widget.TableRow.getChildAt(int)' on a null object reference
It is look for me as i have not a number in place which i refer to, but it is there. I'll add a picture with comments and all my code in links below.
Picture: http://i.imgur.com/huI4kba.png
Code for a method in which i've got an error: http://pastebin.com/nDPnbHNR
Thank you!

A: Just try:
int gsn_count = table2.getChildCount();
TableRow gsnRow = (TableRow) table2.getChildAt(gsn_count -1);

getChildAt() gets an index (starting with 0) and getChildCount() returns the child count.
So if you have got 2 items, the max index is 1 and the count is 2.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 4 trailer released ahead of premiere
Fri Dec 04, 2020 at 12:25am ET
By Shawn S. Lealos
Kiernan Shipka stars as Sabrina on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Pic credit: Netflix
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina will come to an end after its next season, and Netflix just released a brand-new trailer for this final season.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 4 will air its final season on New Year's Eve, December 31, 2020, on Netflix.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 4 trailer
The trailer for Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 4 starts out with a happy moment, as everyone is singing Happy Birthday to her.
But, as anyone who watches the show knows, the birthday is not always a happy moment for everyone's favorite witch.
When Sabrina tried to blow out the candles, the cake disappeared and black candles were all over the table. While everyone thought this was Sabrina playing a trick, she admitted she had no idea what happened.
This is where they start talking about the Eldritch Terrors, which is going to make Sabrina, her friends, and her family's life hell, literally, in Season 4.
This leads to the arrival of The Void, the end of all things.
So, Sabrina does what she knows she needs to do. She goes to Hell to get her other self (one lives life at Baxter High and one secretly sits on the throne of Hell), knowing that they need to work together to save each other.
Sabrina then quips that, of course, they think this is her fault.
The entire trailer had a Buffy the Vampire Slayer vibe in the best ways.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina final season date
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 4 premieres on Netflix on Thursday, December 31. This is one day earlier than major shows normally debut, but what better way to end an otherwise horrific 2020?
Here is the synopsis:
During the eight-episode run for Part 4, the Eldritch Terrors will descend upon Greendale. The coven must fight each terrifying threat one-by-one — the Weird, the Returned and the Darkness, to name a few — all leading up to the Void, which is the End of All Things.
As the witches wage war, with the help of the Fright Club, Nick (Gavin Leatherwood) begins to slowly earn his way back into Sabrina's heart, but will it be too late?
Miranda Otto, Ross Lynch, Lucy Davis, Chance Perdomo, Michelle Gomez, Jaz Sinclair, Lachlan Watson, Gavin Leatherwood, Tati Gabrielle, Adeline Rudolph, Abigail Cowen, and Richard Coyle co-star in the series.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Part 4 premieres on Netflix on Thursday, December 31.